Using Nudges to Boost Big Reading

By Joseph Poulshock, Senshu University & ReadOasis.com By Douglas Forster, Japan Women’s University & ReadOasis.com

Problem

• Critics say, "ER is great, but students don't do it." –The challenge: • Help students read big.

Creative Commons photo by clemsonunivlibrary

Reading Mandates

• This is an ORDER: Read or fail! –Remove mandates, AND? • Do mandates promote

pleasure reading?Creative Commons photo by Texas A&M University

ER is PLAY

• ER is like play. –Do we mandate play? • What do you think?

Creative Commons photo by Karine

Solution — Nudges

• Instead of mandates: Nudges –The difference between

nudge and mandate?

Creative Commons photo by Dominic Campbell

Nudge Theory

• Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness by Thaler and Sunstein

– Richard H. Thaler won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2017

Nudge Theory — Thaler and Sunstein

• Use choice architecture. –Nudge behavior in predictable ways. –Nudges do not forbid any options. • Nudges steer people in a particular direction, but

preserve freedom, allowing people to go their own way. behavioralscientist.org

Nudge Theory — Thaler and Sunstein

• To be a nudge… • People can easily and cheaply avoid the intervention. –Mandate: "Forbid sugary drinks." • Nudge: "Put healthy drinks at eye level."

General Nudges

• Warnings on cigarettes. –An email reminder that credit

card payment is due. –Opt-out pension plans,

instead of opt-in.

Education Nudges

• Email reminders to use a tutoring center or library

• Goal setting programs • Growth mindset pen pal

program • nudge4.ideas42.org

Word Target Nudge• Weekly word target: 2500 –"Word-target participants generally doubled their

reading amount compared to when they were required to read one book per week." – McLean, & Poulshock, (2018). Increasing reading self-efficacy and

reading amount in EFL learners with word-targets. Journal Reading in a Foreign Language, April 2018, Volume 30, No. 1. pp. 76-91.

Pillow Grading Scale

• The Soft Pillow Grading Scale –Hard-to-get A Grade • Easy Passing Grade • Avoids mandated reading.

Current Affairs in Economics; Monday; 2nd Period, Spring 2019 Joseph Poulshock, PhD; Professor, Department of Economics; Email: gengogaku@mac.com

Big Reading Scrum Questions: (1) How many words did you TRACK (T) last week? (2) What is your reading GOAL (G) for this week? (3) What stories or books do you recommend for your group? (Remember good language learners get big data.)

Write (G) for your word count goal for next week. Write (T) for the work count you actually did.

Words/Week 4/22 5/6 5/13 5/20 5/27 6/3 6/10 6/17 6/24 7/1 7/8 7/15 7/22 7/29 8/5 Words Total Score

10,000 150,000 30

9,000 135,000 28

8,000 120,000 25

7,000 105,000 23

6,000 90,000 22

5,000 75,000 21

4,000 60,000 20

3,000 45,000 19

2,000 30,000 18

EVALUATION METHOD FULL SCORE

Attendance: ATTEND and PARTICIPATE in class communication activities. 15

Quizzes: Remember important facts, words, and ideas through the impact of quizzing (7 short quizzes 5 questions each). 35

Word Counts: Read big; count your words; feel the power of big reading (TADOKU). 30

Active/Output Task: Listening, Writing, Presentation, or Proficiency Test. You will receive the task in class. 20

TOTAL 100

Date Theme Due Date Theme Due

4/15 Purpose, Goals, Evaluation, Survey 6/17 The Seven Habits Made Easy I

4/22 Hard Times and Happiness 6/24 Happiness in 59 Seconds

5/6 Making Work Fun 7/1 The Luck Factor Quiz 5-6

5/13 Happy to Write Quiz 1-2 7/8 Experience Flow

5/20 A Simple Answer to Global Warming? 7/15 Meaning to Live

5/27 Understanding X & Y 7/22 The AS IF Principle Quiz 7

6/3 Say No to Overwork Quiz 3-4 7/29 Portfolio Check Presentations I

6/10 Habit Power Presentations I 8/5 Final Deadlines

KEEP YOUR ATTENDANCE: PRESENT = 1 ; ABSENT = 0; LATE = .3 (15 MINUTES LATE = 0)

4/15 4/22 5/6 5/13 5/20 5/27 6/3 6/10 6/17 6/24 7/1 7/8 7/15 7/22 7/29 ALL

TRACK YOUR QUIZ SCORES

QUIZ 1 QUIZ 2 QUIZ 3 QUIZ 4 QUIZ 5 QUIZ 6 QUIZ 7 TOTAL

Name: ______________________________

Number: ____________________________The Five Minute Drill• Students got extra credit for

reading 3-5 minutes per day. –Correlational results showed

that this "as-if" kick start drill increased reading amount. – The Five-Minute Drill for Big

Reading (ERWC 2)

# Date Time Goal: I’ll read ______ minutes per day!1 Start Date Name:

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

Totals Due Date ____/____/____↑Write Total↑

Days Read ↑Write Total↑

MinutesSign your name

here →

↓ Answer these questions on the due date. Not before. ↓

This activity made me feel more like reading. ❏ Disagree | ❏ Don't Know | ❏ Agree

This activity helped me read more. ❏ Disagree | ❏ Don't Know | ❏ Agree

The Five Minute Drill

• Read for at least 5 minutes per day. • See if this makes you feel more like reading. • See if this helps you read more. • The teacher will tell you the start and due dates.

Instructions: 1. Write your name. 2. Read for at least 5 minutes daily. 3. Write your total for each day. 4. Write “0” for no time. 5. Write “5” for 5 minutes. Write “33” for 33 minutes. 6. In the totals boxes, (a) write the total of 5 minute (or

more) days; (b) write the total minutes. Sign it! 7. Answer the questions on the due date. Not before.

! " " " #

Points

14-15 Days = 5 points 12-13 Days = 4 points 10-11 Days = 3 points 8-9 Days = 2 points 7 Days = 1 points

�1

SCRUM for ER

• Teams manage projects. –Break big projects into steps. –Teams set weekly ER goals. • Social nudges to read more.

SCRUM for ER

• Students saw each other’s goals and supported each other.

Scrum as a Social Nudge

• Scrum (social nudges) may increase reading amount. –We saw a 63% increase in reading amount in our pilot. • The study was correlational. Other factors?

ADVANCED: N = 9 INTERMEDIATE: N = 18

BOOKS AVERAGE

PER SS

STORIES AVE

PER SS

STORIES AND BOOKS

AVERAGE

ALL WORDS AND

STUDENTS

PERCENT INCREASE

All Before Scrum (N = 27) 25,015 3,655 28,670 888,779

63.65%All During Scrum (N = 27) 42,277 4,642 46,919 1,454,490

Nudges for Extensive Reading

• Email reminders to read and use the library –Using Mailchimp

N = 287 Total Word Count Ave Word Count *Ave Median Words

Pre-Nudge 2,834,550 8,847 3,752

Post-Nudge 3,297,572 10,486 5,035

Increase 463,022 1,639 1,283

Percent Increase 34%

*average median value for the median for each class

Conclusions

• We can use nudges to help students read more. –*We may need to adjust nudges to match learner

differences and preferences. – *not a point re the empirically unsupported idea of learning styles.

–We need empirical research for ER and nudges. • We need more ER practitioners to research nudges.

Thank You

• To get this talk: –www.ilinguist.net • Search for Nudge

NUDGE